


The Dinner

by clonejail



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-29
Updated: 2014-07-29
Packaged: 2018-02-10 21:45:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2041353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clonejail/pseuds/clonejail
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From a prompt I received on Tumblr. Basically, Cosima notices that Sarah isn't eating that much and wants to find out why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dinner

**Author's Note:**

> I want to make my way through all of the prompts I've received on Tumblr and am starting with this one. Thanks, punk-rock-science! :)

“Are you feeling okay?” Cosima asks over dinner one evening. She had been meaning to bring it up for a while, to ask what was going on, but could never find the right time. It had been a month of noticing the way Sarah ate, ever since the two moved in together. The clone was eating just enough to get by and Cosima was starting to worry.

“What do you mean?” 

She had prepared for this, for Sarah’s defense. The brave face, the excuses, she was ready for it all. “You’ve hardly touched your food, Sarah. I’m not that bad of a cook, am I?” she joked, hoping to ease the tension just a bit.

“I’m just not that hungry.”

Cosima put her silverware down and offered one of her hands to Sarah, palm up in the middle of the table. She watched carefully as the clone considered the gesture and finally accepted, the reserve about their current situation written all over her face. “I’ve noticed that you don’t really eat that much. I’m just making sure you are okay.”

The moment her eating habits were brought up, Sarah couldn’t maintain the eye contact. Cosima tightened her grip on her clone’s hand, something she hoped to be a sign of comfort and support.

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” she reassured. Her thumb stroked the back of Sarah’s hand, making small circles against her skin, as she lowered her head to catch her gaze. “I just want to help if I can.”

Sarah remained still for a moment and Cosima was nearly ready to let go of her hand, to give the clone room to react however needed. But Sarah returned the hold on Cosima’s hand and added a few light traces with her thumb. “I’m okay. I promise. It’s just…”

“Do you want to sit somewhere else and talk about it?” Cosima suggested. Sitting at the dining table, stretching to reach the middle to hold hands, wasn’t exactly the most supportive or comfortable environment. 

Sarah nodded almost immediately and the two made their way toward the couch. As they settled, Sarah draped her legs over the top of Cosima’s and reached out, waiting for her clone to extend her hand. It was pretty common for them to sit like this, being as close as possible given the size constraints of the couch. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to worry you--”

“Hey, it’s okay. I just want to help. Don’t be sorry.” Cosima squeezed Sarah’s hand once and waited for the clone to begin again.

“When Kira was younger, we didn’t have a lot of food. And I obviously wanted her to get as much as possible, because she’s just a kid, you know?”

Cosima could see where this was going and felt her stomach drop. She resisted the urge to stop Sarah there, to tell her it was okay and that she didn’t need to worry about things like that anymore. She knew that wouldn’t fix anything, it would just make the clone feel worse. Even though it was true that having enough food was no longer an issue, reminding Sarah of that would only make her feel guilty for having those thoughts. 

“I think I had to do it for so long just to make sure Kira got enough that now it’s just what my body is used to doing.”

“Is that why you got upset at Thanksgiving when Alison kept bothering you about eating more?” Cosima suddenly connected the two things. At the time, she had just figured Sarah had put up with all of Alison she could take for one day and needed a break. Now she realized what sensitive and serious topic it was. 

Sarah nodded, dropped her head once again. “She was kind of annoying me all day but yeah, it was just too much. I know she meant well but she doesn’t really know the circumstances. None of you did, until right now.”

“We can figure this out, Sarah,” Cosima promised. She reached out with her free hand and gently guided Sarah’s up head just enough to reconnect their gaze. “I can help you with some of it and we can get help for the rest.”

It was too much for the clone and Sarah ducked again as she teared up. “You shouldn’t have to, though. I should be over it, yeah? We’ve had tons of food for a while now.”

Cosima pulled her closer, wrapping her arms around Sarah’s shoulders. “But you didn’t for years. That’s not easy to overcome.” She kissed the top of Sarah’s head and rested her cheek there for a moment, just trying to be as close to her clone as possible. “I promise we can handle this, Sarah. It’s going to be okay.”

The two sat like that for a while, Cosima comforting Sarah as long as the tougher clone would let her. After a few moments, Sarah gently pulled away and reached out to cup Cosima’s face with her free hand. “We can do this?”

“We can do this,” Cosima repeated confidently. She held Sarah’s look for a second before pulling her in for a kiss, washing away any doubts the other clone could possibly have.


End file.
